Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code and Related Matters) (8th Am

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	PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), MARCH 10, 2021 (PHGN 19, 1942 SAKA)

EXTRAORDINARY

Published by Authority

CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2021 (PHALGUNA 19, 1942 SAKA)

PUNJAB STATE ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION

NOTIFICATION

The 10th, March, 2021

No. PSERC/Secy/Regu. 155.- In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 181 read with Sections 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 126, 127, 135, 152, 154 & 163 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (Central Act 36 of 2003), Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2007 (No. 26 of 2007) and all other powers enabling it in this behalf, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission hereby makes following regulations to amend the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code and Related Matters) Regulations, 2014 including the first to seventh amendments thereof (hereinafter referred to as "the Principal Regulations"):-

1. SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT AND INTERPRETATION

1.1 These Regulations may be called the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code and Related Matters) (8th Amendment) Regulations, 2021.

1.2 These Regulations shall be applicable to all licensees (including entities exempted under Section 13 of the Act) in their respective licensed/supply areas and all consumers/persons in the State of Punjab.

1.3 These Regulations shall come into force from the date of their publication in the official gazette of the State except regulation 31.5 which shall come in to force from 1st July, 2021.

2. Amendments in Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations-

Clause (zd) and (zs) of regulation 2 shall be substituted as under:

(zd) "Forum" means the Forum constituted by the distribution licensee for redressal of grievances of the consumers under sub-section (5) of Section 42 of the Act;

(zs) "Ombudsman" means an authority appointed or designated by the Commission under sub-section (6) of Section 42 of the Act;

3. Amendments in Regulation 4.2 of the Principal Regulations-

The Table under Regulation 4.2 shall be amended as under:

(i) the words and figures "Industrial load including general load not exceeding 7 kW at consumer's option" appearing in the second bullet point at Sr.No. (i) of the Table under Regulation 4.2 shall be

( 1443 )PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), MARCH 10, 2021 (PHGN 19, 1942 SAKA) 1444 substituted with the words and figures "Industrial demand including general demand not exceeding 7 kVA at consumer's option".

(ii) the words and the figures "DS/NRS loads exceeding 7 kW or motive load exceeding 2 BHP but not exceeding 100 kW" appearing in the first bullet point at Sr.No. (ii) of the Table under Regulation 4.2 shall be substituted with the words and figures "DS/NRS loads exceeding 7 kW or motive load exceeding 2 BHP but demand not exceeding 100 kVA".

(iii) the words and the figures "Industrial load including general load/demand (other than covered under (i) above) not exceeding 100 kW/100kVA." appearing in the second bullet point at Sr.No. (ii) of the Table under Regulation 4.2 shall be substituted with the words and figures "Industrial demand including general demand (other than covered under (i) above) not exceeding 100kVA".

(iv) the words and the figures "DS/NRS/BS loads exceeding 100 kW/kVA but with contract demand not exceeding 4000 kVA" appearing in the second bullet point at Sr.No. (iii) of the Table under Regulation 4.2 shall be substituted by words and figures "DS/NRS/BS demand exceeding 100 kVA but not exceeding 4000 kVA".

4. Amendments in Regulation 8.5 of the Principal Regulations-

In the first proviso to Regulation 8.5, the words "the same shall be allowed subject to technical feasibility and" shall be inserted after the words "and it involves change in the licensee's distribution system then"

5. Amendments in Regulation 9.1.3 of the Principal Regulations-

The sub-clause (iii) of clause (a) of Regulation 9.1.3 shall be amended as under;

(i) The first paragraph shall be substituted as under:

"Where the total demand including existing demand of above mentioned categories exceeds 100 kVA, the HT/EHT consumer shall pay the cost of augmentation of individual service line, if any, and the proportionate cost of the common portion of main line upto the feeding substation including breaker/bay, as the case may be, for only the additional demand, as per the standard cost data approved by the Commission."

(ii) In the first proviso, the words "common portion of the line up to feeding substation" shall be substituted with the words "common portion of the line up to the feeding substation including breaker /bay, as the case may be,"

(iii) The second proviso shall be substituted as under:

"Provided further that in case there is change in the specified Supply Voltage of the consumer due to additional demand, the consumer shall pay the cost of the new service line and the proportionate cost of the common portion of the line up to the feeding sub-station including breaker/bay, as the case may be, for the total demand including additional demand".

6. Amendment in Regulation 13.3 of the Principal Regulations-

Regulation 13.3 shall be substituted as under:

"The amount payable towards security shall be deposited at the notified office through any approved mode of payment as specified in Regulation 31.5 of this Code, as amended from time to time".

7. Amendments in Regulation 21.5.2 of the Principal Regulations-

The clause (e) to Regulation 21.5.2 shall be substituted as under:

"The energy consumption determined as per para (a) to (d) above shall be adjusted for the change of load/demand on prorata basis, if any, during the period of overhauling of accounts".

PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), MARCH 10, 2021 (PHGN 19, 1942 SAKA) 1445

8. Amendments in Regulation 25 of the Principal Regulations-

(i) Regulation 25.2 shall be substituted as under:

"25.2: Constitution of Dispute Settlement Committees

The following shall be added at the end of Regulation 25.2;

"In case of non-compliance of the order of the Dispute Settlement Committee within the stipulated period, as specified in the Consumer Complaint Handling Procedure (CCHP), the aggrieved person may approach the appropriate authority as per the provisions PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time."

(ii) Regulation 25.3 shall be substituted as under:

"25.3: Forum for Redressal of Grievances of the Consumers

"Any complainant aggrieved by the non-redressal of his/her grievance by the distribution licensee and/or under the Consumer Complaint Handling Procedure, as the case may be, may himself/herself or through his/her authorized representative, approach the Forum established by the distribution licensee as per PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time, in writing for the redressal of his/her grievance.

Provided that the complainant shall have the right to approach the Forum directly in respect of matters falling under the jurisdiction of the Forum.

In case of non-compliance of the order of the Forum within the specified period, the aggrieved person may approach the appropriate authority as per the provisions of PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time."

(iii) Regulation 25.4 shall be substituted as under:

"25.4: Redressal of Grievances by Ombudsman

25.4.1 A complainant aggrieved by an order of the Forum or non-redressal of grievance by the Forum within the prescribed period shall have the right to submit an appeal to the Ombudsman as per the provisions of PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time.

25.4.2 In case of non-compliance of award/order of the Ombudsman within the specified period, the consumer may approach the Ombudsman as per provisions of PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time."

9. Amendments in Regulation 26 of the Principal Regulations-

(i) Regulation 26.2 shall be substituted as under:

"26.2 The aggrieved consumer may submit the claim for compensation in the format specified in the Consumer Complaint Handling Procedure (CCHP) to the Nodal officer of the Dispute Settlement Committee (DSC) as per the procedure contained in the CCHP within one month from the date of cause of action.

Provided that an aggrieved consumer(s), not satisfied with the orders of the DSC, may approach the Forum within 2 months from the receipt of the order as per the provisions of PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time.

Provided further that the aggrieved consumer(s) shall have the right to approach the Forum directly within one month from the date of cause of action for claiming compensation as per the procedure specified in PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016.

Provided also that the above period(s) may be relaxed by the Chairperson of the respectivePUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), MARCH 10, 2021 (PHGN 19, 1942 SAKA) 1446 DSC/Forum in case of genuine difficulty."

(ii) Regulation 26.4 shall be substituted as under:

"26.4 The aggrieved consumer(s), not satisfied with the orders of the Forum, may approach the Ombudsman within 30 days from the receipt of the order of the Forum."

(iii) 26.5 Regulation 26.5 shall be deleted.

10. Amendments in Regulation 30.3 of the Principal Regulations-

(i) In the clause (a) of the Regulation 30.3, the words and figures "50 kW" shall be substituted with the words and figures "10 kW"

(ii) In the clause (b) of the Regulation 30.3, the words and figures "50 kW" shall be substituted with the words and figures "10 kW"

11. Amendments in Regulation 31.5 of the Principal Regulations-

The second proviso to Regulation 31.5 shall be substituted as under:

"Provided further that all payments exceeding Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand only) in a billing cycle/month or the amount, as may be decided by the Commission from time to time, shall only be accepted through e-banking, credit/debit card, RTGS, NEFT or any other approved digital mode. A rebate of 0.25% of the bill amount subject to maximum of Rs. 100/- shall be allowed to the consumer making payment through digital mode. The rebate shall be credited to the account of the consumer in the next bill.

Provided also that in case the consumer makes the payment through digital mode before the due date but there is delay in transfer of funds by the bank to the distribution licensee, no late payment surcharge shall be recoverable from the consumer."

12. Amendments in Regulation 35.1.5 of the Principal Regulations-

Regulation 35.1.5 shall be substituted as under:

"In case, the consumer is not satisfied with the decision of the distribution licensee, he/she may, after effecting payment in terms of Regulation 35.1.1, seek redressal in accordance with the Consumer Complaint Handling Procedure and/or PSERC (Forum and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2016, as amended from time to time."

Sd/-

SECRETARY TO THE COMMISSION,

Note: The Principal Regulations were issued vide Notification No. PSERC/Secy./Regu.97 dated 05.11.2014 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 5th Nov. 2014 and further amended vide:

The 1st amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/

Secy./Regu.114 dated 22.06.2016 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 23.06.2016.

The 2nd amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/

Secy./Regu.116 dated 05.10.2016 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 05.10.2016.

The 3rd amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/

Secy./Regu.119 dated 21.03.2017 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 22.03.2017.

The 4th amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/

Secy./Regu.125 dated 17.05.2018 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 17.05.2018 read with corrigendum issued vide notification no. PSERC/Secy./Regu.126 dated 06.06.2018 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 06.06.2018.

PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), MARCH 10, 2021 (PHGN 19, 1942 SAKA) 1447

The 5th amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/

Secy./Regu.137 dated 28.01.2019 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 28.01.2019 The 6th amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/ Secy./Regu.146 dated 09.01.2020 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 10.01.2020 The 7th amendment to the Principal Regulations issued vide Notification No/. PSERC/ Secy./Regu.151 dated 18.09.2020 published in Punjab Govt. Gaz.(Extra) dated 18.09.2020.